Sonny Styles’s Combine Breakout Forces Teams to Re-evaluate Linebacker and Edge Plans

The immediate fallout lands squarely on front offices and scheme builders: sonny styles’s combine numbers create mismatches with typical size-and-speed assumptions for linebackers and edge defenders. Teams that had penciled him in as a developmental piece must now decide whether to accelerate plans for a day-one, position-flex role — a decision that affects draft boards, positional meetings and March pro-day strategies.

Impact on personnel choices and scheming after a single workout

Here’s the part that matters: a performance this singular forces teams to revisit how they grade size, explosiveness and positional fit. Multiple personnel departments will confront the same trade-off — treat him as an off-ball linebacker with elite traits, or project him into hybrid roles that bring immediate coverage and rushing upside. The real question now is whether evaluators will move him up boardlines that already viewed him as a potential top-10 pick entering the week.

Event details from Indianapolis — the measurable package

At the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Thursday, Ohio State’s Sonny Styles posted a 43 1/2-inch vertical while listed at 6-5 and 244 pounds. His broad jump measured 11-foot-2, the top mark among participants that Thursday. Styles ran the 40-yard dash in 4. 46 seconds, a time that tied his Buckeyes teammate Arvell Reese for the fastest among defensive linemen and linebackers who worked that day.

How rare the numbers are — comparisons and historical notes

These are not just big numbers; they sit in rare company. Styles registered the highest vertical for any player 6-4 or taller and any participant weighing 240-plus at the combine since at least 2003. Among linebackers in recent combine history, the broad jump of 11-2 is only topped in the referenced period by Jamie Collins (11-7 in 2013), Bud Dupree (11-6 in 2015) and Willie Gay Jr. (11-4 in 2020). NFL Research identifies him as the only player since 2003 to pair a sub-4. 5 40-yard dash with a 40-plus inch vertical and an 11-plus foot broad jump while weighing 230 or more pounds.

• 2013: Jamie Collins posted an 11-7 broad jump (line from historical context).
• 2015: Bud Dupree posted an 11-6 broad jump.
• 2020: Willie Gay Jr. posted an 11-4 broad jump.

It’s easy to overlook, but those benchmarks help explain why evaluations that once separated strict ‘coverage-only’ linebackers from ‘run-and-rush’ types now face a new gray zone.

Draft trajectory, on-field production and family background

Styles entered the week with buzz as a potential top-10 pick; the combine showing may cement that perception ahead of April. He finished last season with 14 starts, compiling 82 tackles (6. 5 for loss), one sack and one forced fumble across those starts. His father, Lorenzo Styles Sr., played six NFL seasons and was part of the Rams’ Super Bowl XXXIV-winning team — a detail that figures into evaluations of background and pedigree.

Immediate reactions and the media roundtable take

On a draft-focused show hosted by Todd McShay, guests Steve Muench and Panthers GM Dan Morgan reacted to combine performances including those of Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese and Caleb Banks. Producers Tucker Tashjian, Conor Nevins and Daniel Comer contributed to the episode; social duties were handled by Jon Roemer. In that conversation, Todd McShay predicted that Styles will be taken in the top five. The show also included evaluations of other workouts — notably David Bailey’s performance — and broader takeaways from edge, IDL, and LB classes. Dan Morgan discussed his path to becoming an NFL executive during the segment.

A comparison of Styles to the 49ers’ Fred Warner was part of the pre-week chatter, and Styles addressed that comparison on Wednesday. A separate comparison to Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton caught the attention of Baltimore’s All-Pro on Thursday night.

Below are compact takeaways that matter for teams, agents and draft strategists:

• Top-10 vs. top-5: Expect teams weighing positional need to revisit board placement; his combine may push some clubs to view him as a top-five pick.
• Role versatility: Schemes that value hybrid linebackers will flag him for immediate defensive snaps rather than a long developmental track.
• Comparisons: Parallels to Fred Warner and Kyle Hamilton will shape both scouting narratives and how coaching staffs envision position fit.
• Teammate context: Tied 40 time with Arvell Reese highlights a broader Ohio State group performance that day.

Writer’s aside: What’s easy to miss is how a single workout can compress months of evaluation into a handful of hours; teams still must marry these numbers to tape and interviews before final judgments land.

The week also featured opportunities for fans and industry followers to subscribe to ongoing draft coverage under a branded draft report; sign-ups carried the usual terms-of-service notice for submissions. Listeners who followed the McShay show heard direct reactions to Styles and other standouts, with the episode framing both measurable outcomes and personnel implications.

Uncertainties remain: some projection questions — such as his precise role in January-February game plans and how teams will balance his coverage duties versus rush attempts — are unclear in the provided context and will require follow-up work on tape and interviews leading into April.